St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-06-10
TWO CHEROKEE SHOTS.
Capt. Sam Sixkiner and Sheriff
Thomas Tail.
Some Fresh Information About the
Indian Territory.

dian territory without casting cONetOuS
chances here and there. 1t is desira-
BILE lot of land-the most of it-of course,
but not more so than many other parts
of the Union, but it is the property of
the Indian, and white men who will adj
NIT that the Indian has property rights
are scarce and do not linger long i'll the
Indian territory. The Indian who lives
and thrives within its borders would be
safer in his rights if trains were COM
PEELED to pass through the territory at
night. Then the beauty of rolling and
graSS-covered prairieS, of its wooded
hills that hide fortunes waiting for the
digger, and its rich bottoms would be
hidden from the covetous eye of the
greedy white. AS it is, there are prob
ably more white men i'll the territory
than even the Indians are aware OF
an-and little escapes them, stolid and
nOn-obServant as they usually seem, but
are not. A majority of them are quite
keen enough to drive sharp bargain
with the white invader. They have
paid for their eXperience-mOStO of them
and want no more. Still many of
them are rich through contact with the
whites. From the latter they have
gained knowledge they would never
have obtained if left to themselves, so
. lllttl MllOlC- tiAC
: hasn't lost much IN his dealings with the
pale face.
There are Indians of all cOlOrS in the
territory Some.are of the standard In
dian color, a rich copper; Others are of
a braSSy shade, and these are half-breedS.
but there are half-breedS also whose
color is darker than that of full-bloOded
Indian: in such there is negro blood.
Before the war of the rebellion and sub
SeQuent to it many of the Indians owned
slaves and cotton plantations worked by
them. There are fine cotton plantations
to-day near Eufaula, and many of the
negroes who work on them and get paid
for their labor picked cotton there be-
fore and during the war, and after 1t,
too, for their food. Some of the Indian
slave owners objected StrenuOuSly to
giving the colored men their freedom,
and are not satisfied yet that they re-
ceived justice in the transaction, partic-
ularly as it seemed to be matter of no
consequence to the freedman. The lat
ter has learned all about hiSrightS since
that time andinSists upon getting them.
In addition to the five So-called civil
lied nations-the CherOkeeS, ChOctawS,
ChickaSawS, SeminOles, CreekS-there
are number of remnants of tribes in
the territory. In all there are about
$4,000. Gov. Perryman. of the Creek
nation, is very intelligent Indian.
His complexion is very dark, and
he is supposed to have negro
blood in his veins. He is
of stout build and medium height.
He dresses in civilized garb. and has a
couple of daughters who are handsome
and MISUNDERSTANDING enough to at
tract attention anywhere. Gov. Perry
man can both read and write. BuShy
Head, the principal chief of the Chero-
KEGS, is an intelligent half-breed. One
of his ancestors was white. Gov. Nc
Curtin, of the ChoctaWS, is tall and raw
bOned.
The white man who marrieS an Indian
woman of the territory becomes an In
dian so far as his rights and privileges
are concerned. He can fence in all the
land he wants, unless he wants too much.
Ifhe shows disposition to fence in all
the unOccupied land in the territory his
Indian neighbOrS will not call upon him
and argue the point. They simply cut
the fence down. He can, however,
fence section-640 acres-and no one
is allowed to settle on or use the land
for quarter of a mile distant from
his fences. White men who marry
1ndians-the mems who marry as
business venture-generally en-
gage in cattle raising.
Jim McAlister is a striking exam
pie of this class. He is supposed to be
worth $500, 600, and he lives in the town
that bears his name. Seventeen years
ago McAlister entered the territory
driving mule team. He carried all his
property on his back. The territory
suited him. He saw a Chickasaw Squaw
who suited him also. He mar
rieds her and became an In |
dian. In knocking about the territory
he discovered coal, or he made the ac-
quaintance of an Indian who had made
the discovery. The discoverer of coal
gets royalty on every ton that is minted
on square mile of territory. There
are about sixteen Indians in the terri
tory who are paid such a royalty and
McAlister is one of them. He
reaps rich harvest ON his
royalty alone: for there are three
coal mines in operation at Nc
Alister which give employment to 700
men, and the daily capacity of the mines
is about 1000 tons, or 100 cars of 16 tons
each. The royalty on coal runs from
Il to 1 cent buShel of eighty-fve
pounds. McAlister owns two stores at
which the miners deal. He has fortune
i'll them. He owns ranch nine miles
north of Denison, Tex, and has it
stocked with 5000 cattle. 1t also contains
several substantial buildings. He is a
iNuN -oCG illilli otDONC
height, and is about forty-five years of
age. He is a pronounced blonde, while
his wife is very dark. She is woman
of excellent reputation and a steady
church-gOer. McAlister's tastes do not
tend in that direction, but he is a man
of good habits.
The desperadoes of adjoining states
often make the Indian territory a tenn
porary abiding place. Even if they
oil 70 n oh
wouldn't remain in the territory long.
The Southwestern desperate grows
lonesome without his whisky, and
liquor is not sold or allowed
in the territory. When any
liquor is found within the limits the
jug is broken and a spot bare of grass
tells the tale. Five gallons of rum were
discovered here a few days ago by a
marshal. He took the corks out of ten
half-gallonjugs and stood the latter on
the small end until the contents had
killed all the animal and vegetable life
in the immediate vicinity.
Phe bad men of the territory were
more in awe of Sam Sixkiller than of
any Indian or white man who stood in
bo0tSSOr moceasinS. He was killed not
long ago by a gang who waylaid him.
SiXkiller was an extraordinary character
in many respects. He was chief of the
Indian police of the territory. His
regular force numbered 100 men, and
he had a reserve of 300 who
were always ready for call. Sixkiller
was family name. One of his ancestors
was cross between John l.. Sullivan
and Skobeloff as fighter. In one of the
fights between his nation, the Cherokees,
and the Creeks, he killed six men and
was killed himself. He was called Six
killer from this little feat, and
the name descended from father
to son until it reached Sam Six
killer He was a worthy daccppd